Fearless Faith

When judging the success of churches, there continues to be a tendency to fall back on numbers. Attendees, members, baptisms, baby dedications, weddings and souls declared and delivered for Christ are all indicators of the value of the work that is being done. The more the merrier. Reality, however, sheds a different light on the work we think has been done.

A glance backward in my own Western Plains district (comprised of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and northern New Mexico) provides interesting insight into the numbers game. The first church in the district was established at Cottonwood, Kansa...